Causes For Early Menopause

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Causes For Early Menopause

If you are like most women, the thought of never getting your period again is a welcomed though! However, when it comes to menopause, it is much more serious than simply not having a period. For some people, menopause does come early. When this happens, it is usually due to one of the three following reasons. Regardless of the reason, early menopause symptoms will mirror normal menopause symptoms.

Premature Ovarian Failure

This is one of the most common reasons for early menopause. This is usually caused by an autoimmune disorder where your immune system accidently attacks itself. Your body believes that the immune system is a disease and sends out antibodies to fight this thread. In some cases, your body may direct these antibodies to the reproductive system. When this happens, early menopause can happen because the ovaries are severely damaged. When the ovaries are damaged that means that ovarian function will not occur, and that is the basic definition of menopause, even early menopause. Though there is no real way to reverse this, you can take charge of your health by knowing what to expect and looking into your family history to see if there are autoimmune disorders present.

Surgery

Surgery on your reproductive system can put you into early menopause. For example, if you have to have your ovaries removed, then you will obviously be instantly thrust into early menopause. If you have a full hysterectomy, i.e. having your ovaries, uterus, and fallopian tubes removed, you will of course experience early menopause as well. The major drawback to surgically induced early menopause is that it can often be much more intense than traditional menopause. This is because there is no gradual reduction of hormones in your system and everything happens instantaneously.

Even if you are able to keep your ovaries during your hysterectomy, you may still be thrust into early menopause. Why? This is because it is common for ovaries to be damaged during surgeries on the reproductive system. So even if the ovaries remain, it is possible for them to stop functioning after surgery. This is also true with tubal ligation as that surgery can also send a woman into early menopause.

Chemically Induced Early Menopause

The final category for early menopause is chemically induced menopause. This occurs after radiation therapy and chemotherapy because both can severely damage the ovaries. Sometimes women only experience this stop of menstruation during the actual chemical treatment, but even if menstruation returns often times the ovaries are too damaged to allow fertility to return. Many cancer treatment drugs, especially for breast cancer, block the production of estrogen which will also send a woman into early menopause. Unfortunately, often times this is the only way for many people to have a shot at becoming cancer free.

Ovary Removal Linked to Increased Lung Cancer Risk (nytimes.com)
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What to Ask Before a Hysterectomy (abcnews.go.com)
Removing ovaries may boost risk of lung cancer: study (nationalpost.com)
Medical Papers by Ghostwriters Pushed Therapy (nytimes.com)
Medical Papers By Ghostwriters Pushed Hormone Therapy (science.slashdot.org)
Removing ovaries may boost lung cancer risk: Study (canada.com)
Women Who Keep Ovaries Live Longer (nytimes.com)
FDA Approves Incision less Sterilization Process for Women (ducknetweb.blogspot.com)
John Hughes Dies at 59 (thehollywoodgossip.com)
Link between hormone therapy, ovarian cancer boosted by study (thestar.com)
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Tagged with: Breast cancer, Fallopian tube, Health, Hysterectomy, Menopause, ovary, Tubal ligation, Women's health

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